Brown Bears in Dipling

By Jigmat Lundup, 2021

Sixty-seven-year-old Phuntsog Angchuk is from Dipling, a village South of Leh. Dipling, which is not connected by road, is a trek of about 12 hours from Lingshed. According to Phuntsog Angchuk, brown bears have always been around in Dipling. In the past, they would come near the sheep and other animals, almost as if they were curious. Rarely were they attacking. As a young man, Phuntsog Angchuk once saw a brown bear above his village. People would say that these bears are grass-fed, so nobody would be scared when seeing them. Things are different today. In Dipling, in autumn and spring in particular, people are sometimes afraid of encountering a brown bear when going around in the village. They have broken into houses and destroyed solar plates. In the past, bears were never venturing right in the village like they are today. Scared, most families now keep a dog attached outside, with the hope that this will keep bears at bay. Three years ago, Phuntsog Angchuk lost 25 sheep to a bear attack. He was never compensated by the government like he would have if the attacks had been perpetrated by a snow leopard. Even larger animals are becoming prey: some yaks and cows were also recently killed at the pastures around Dipling. I asked Phuntsog Angchuk why he thinks there are more brown bears around these days, and why they have become aggressive. The man had many suggestions. For one, cubs are less likely to die while crossing streams and rivers that are nowadays lowering. Also, with the reduced snowfall precipitations, bears are less likely to die due to avalanches. The vegetation in the mountains has also become scant and this may explain why bears must come closer to the village to search for food. Phuntsog Angchuk also suggested that the bears may be sent by the mountains deities who are angry at villagers for failing to do the proper offering and for abandoning the pastures and selling their domesticated animals.